


Screams in the Night

by LadyM_17



Series: Whumptober 2020 [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Good Charlie Weasley, Harry Potter Has Nightmares, Harry Potter Next Generation, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:02:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26867104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyM_17/pseuds/LadyM_17
Summary: James wakes up to screaming and thinks it's just Albus seeing a spider; it's not.
Relationships: Albus Severus Potter & Harry Potter, Albus Severus Potter & James Sirius Potter, Harry Potter & Charlie Weasley, Harry Potter & James Sirius Potter, Molly Weasley & James Sirius Potter
Series: Whumptober 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948384
Comments: 2
Kudos: 53
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Screams in the Night

**Author's Note:**

> I just, there's no way Harry's entire generation isn't traumatized, and it's going to affect their kids, but it's okay because they're all going to get through it together. 
> 
> Prompt: Day 6: Please ["Stop, please"]
> 
> Content Warnings: Nightmares (mentioned)  
> Please let me know if anything else should be warned for and take care of yourselves!

When James Sirius Potter woke up with screams ringing in his ears, he thought he had been having a nightmare, but the yelling didn’t stop when he rubbed his eyes, so then he thought Albus had seen a spider.

“Al, shut up, it’s just a spider.”

“I’m not saying anything.” Al whimpered.

James sat up and looked over at Al, if he wasn’t yelling who was? The seven-year-old wasn’t scared yet, more curious than anything. “Come on, Al, let’s go see what it is.”

“Are you crazy! I’m not looking! What if it’s a monster!”

“If it was a monster, Mom would’ve gotten it.”

"Mom's not here!" Right, their mother was away for a quidditch match. 

"Well, Dad then." 

“What if the monster got Dad?”

“It couldn’t,” James said authoritatively.

Al shook his head. “I’m staying here.”

“Fine.” James pushed open their bedroom door and walked down the hallway without pause, until he realized where the screams were coming from: his dad’s room. Surely, if something was in his dad’s room, he would’ve defeated it by now.

"No! Please don’t hurt him! Stop it, you-“ James shoved his hands over his ears; his dad was the one screaming. If his dad was screaming, they were in trouble.

He turned around and ran, almost running over Albus who had cautiously crept out of the room after James. He grabbed his younger brother by the shirt and pulled them both into the closet.

“Wha-” James pressed his hand over Al’s mouth and then removed it so the kid could breathe.

“I think Dad’s getting attacked,” he whispered.

“W-what? What do we do?”

James didn’t know.

In the closet, with two doors and a hallway in-between them and their father, they couldn’t hear him yelling as much, but every few moments a particularly powerful scream reached them. Al would jump and clasp a hand over his mouth, then they heard tapping in their room.

James pulled Al behind him and readied a hanger, what if whoever had been hurting their father had come for them next? But it didn’t, the taps continued, but didn’t come closer, and every now and then their father yelled.

Eventually, James’ curiosity got the better of his fear and he peaked his head out, ready to pull it back in at any sign of the intruder. Instead, there was Erin, their barn owl, patiently tapping at the window.

“Erin!” James cried.

“Shush!” Al hissed, as James ran to let Erin in and gave her a big hug. He squished her wings, but the owl patiently accepted the affection of the human offspring for a moment before pecking his head in order to get him to release her.

“Wait, Erin!” James made sure that the owl was not going to fly off before rushing to the play table and pulling out a scrap of paper and a pen to write:

_ Dear Granny, _

_ I think someone’s in the house. Dad’s screaming a lot and we think someone might be hurting him. Al and I are in the closet, could you help us? _

_ Your favorite grandson, _

_ James _

Al had come over to look at the letter. “You’re not her favorite grandson!”

James rolled his eyes. “I think I am.” Not leaving any room for argument, he addressed the letter clearly with the words ‘Granny’ and gave it to Erin.

“You know where to find Granny, don’t you?”

Erin gave a hoot, almost offended that James would have to ask, before flying off into the night.

“What do we do now?” Al asked.

James dragged him back into the closet. “We wait here for Granny to come.”

“What if she doesn’t come?”

“She will.” So James and Albus sat in the closet and waited, eventually they realized that the screaming had stopped.

“You don’t think he’s…” Al trailed off.

“No!” James insisted. “Of course not! He probably just beat the bad guy’s butt!”

They waited in silence and heard a very fragile sound outside their door. James grabbed a hanger and got ready to pounce.

The door opened. “James? Albus? Ja-”

“Dad!” The two boys left onto their father, who was standing bewildered in the doorway.

“What’re you two doing out of bed?”

“We heard screaming, Dad!” James explained.

“We thought someone was in the house!”

“What was going on?”

“You heard screaming.” Harry sighed. “Why don’t we go make some hot chocolate and I’ll explain.”

* * *

Soon they were all settled next to the fire with mugs of hot chocolate and Harry had snuck a few extra marshmallows in with a wink. “Don’t tell your mother.”

“Well, what happened?” James asked.

Harry rubbed his forehead. “Well, you know how you two sometimes have a bad dream?”

“Yeah!” Albus exclaimed, “I had one where a spider climbed on my arm.”

Harry nodded. “Exactly, well tonight I had a bad dream.”

“Was that why you were screaming?”

Harry nodded. “Sometimes nightmares become too much for your brain and your body reacts instead. I’m sorry I scared you.”

“You didn’t scare us too bad!” James promised, “We knew you would defeat the bad guy… even if the bad guy was in your brain.”

Harry laughed. “Thank you, James.”

“Dad, what was your dream about?” Albus asked.

Harry shook his head. “The war. Sometimes scary things stick with you…”

“And that’s okay?” Albus asked.

“Of course,” Harry said, “Scary-”

The door burst open and Harry shot up, wand in hand, already between the door and his children when he recognized the stature of Molly Weasley in her nightgown.

“Oh, goodness, Molly, what’re you doing here?”

Molly did not stand down, instead, brandishing her wand at Harry. “Where did you propose to my daughter?”

“The lower garden of the Burrow,” Harry responded. “We’d snuck out of a family dinner.”

Molly lowered her wand and hugged him. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” She turned to James and Albus, but Albus’s eyes were on someone behind her.

“Uncle Charlie!”

Harry turned to see Charlie creeping through the doorway. “Sorry I was supposed to circle around back, just in case the little ones had left the closet.”

“What?”

James scratched his ear. “We, before we knew it was a nightmare, might have sent Erin to Granny, just in case you were being attacked.”

As if on cue, Erin fluttered in and started nesting in Charlie’s hair.

Harry shook his head. “Oh my, I’m so sorry Molly.”

“No, no, don’t worry about it. I had been waiting up for Charlie to arrive anyways, Erin came about the same time he did. Besides, better safe than sorry. Now,” she turned to James and Albus, “Why don’t I get the two poppets up to bed and you and Charlie can unwind?”

“No, Molly, please-”

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all, I’d be pleased to spend some more time with them, come along now.” Molly ushered James and Albus upstairs,

“You want some tea? Hot chocolate?” Harry offered.

“Sure.” Charlie sat down as Harry boiled the water, he never started doing that through magic. “So nightmares?”

Harry shrugged, suddenly looking very tired. “I terrified my children, tonight.”

Charlie sighed. “Harry, we all have trauma. These things are going to happen, but you’ve dealt with it the best you can for tonight, and tomorrow when Ginny comes back you can let her know and you two can deal with it together, and beyond that, we’ll all deal with it; our entire generation, with all our children.”

Harry shook his head and handed Charlie his drink. “Where’d all this good advice come from?”

Charlie shrugged. “Dragons don’t often ask for it, so it’s all stored up. But seriously, Harry, these nightmares are normal, they happen to everyone, so don’t let all that chosen stuff bullcrap get into your head about dealing with them alone. Ginny’s here for you, Mum’s here for you, I’m here for you, Ro-”

“I get the idea, thank you, Charlie.”

“Anytime Harry.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Please be don't be mean!


End file.
